BHSU students present research at National Conference on Undergraduate Research

Twelve Black Hills State University students and three faculty members attended the recent National Conference on Undergraduate Research at the University of Kentucky. Pictured from left to right, Nicole Faas, political science major from Rapid City; Ashley Wingert, chemistry major from Custer; Kathryn McHenry, chemistry and chemistry education major from Cheyenne, Wyo.; Krystal Christensen-Wiederrich, English major from Sturgis; Tayler Ripley, biology and chemistry major from Pierre; Raeann Mettler, instructor of biology; Peter Soverns, psychology major from Belle Fourche; Dr. Aris Karagiorgakis, assistant professor of psychology; John Hinrichs, graduate student in the master of science in sustainability program; Matthew Wilen, chemistry major from Sturgis; Anna Hafele, outdoor education and biology major from Newell; Kaitlin Schneider, psychology major from Sturgis; Dr. Andy Johnson, assistant professor of physics; and Kelly Winter-Howard, special education major from Belle Fourche.

Twelve Black Hills State University students recently traveled to the University of Kentucky in Lexington to present their research at the 2014 National Conference on Undergraduate Research.

Students presented research on the subjects of Chemistry, Biology, Psychology, Sociology, Political Science, Education and Interdisciplinary Studies.

NCUR, an annual conference dedicated to promoting undergraduate research, scholarship, and creative activity in all fields of study, is the largest professional research symposium of its type. Each year approximately 2,000 undergraduate students from all fields and disciplines gather to share the knowledge they have gained through their research projects. Student presenters also have the opportunity to publish their work in the Conference Proceedings, which are distributed across the nation.

Students presenting their psychology abstracts included: Kaitlin Schneider, psychology major from Sturgis, “Distinguishing the Meditative Benefits of Drawing Within and Without Borders on Acute Stress Levels” and “Drawing for 15 Minutes Prior to a Police Lineup Identification Task May Enhance Eyewitness Accuracy”; Peter Soverns, psychology major from Belle Fourche, “College Student Suicide Ideation; and Kelly Winter-Howard, special education major from Belle Fourche, “Athletes to Athletes: Encouraging Confidence Through Mentoring.”

An interdisciplinary studies abstract was presented by Krystal Christensen-Wiederrich, English major from Sturgis, “The Battle Between Digital and Print: An Analysis of Electronic and Print Circulation Within South Dakota Public Libraries.”

A sociology abstract was presented by Kristin Prescott, human services major from Colgate, Wis., “Sexual Onset in Adolescents.”

A political science abstract was presented by Nicole Faas, political science major from Rapid City, “The Surveillance Industrial Complex: America’s Privacy Crisis.”

Anna Hafele, outdoor education and biology major from Newell, presented abstracts in both biology and education, “Do Students’ Approach to Learning Affect Understanding of Radiation and Radioactivity?” and Genetic Variation of the Mountain Pine Beetle in the Black Hills.”

Students presenting their chemistry abstracts included: Kathryn McHenry, chemistry and chemistry education major from Cheyenne, Wyo., “Development of an Undergraduate Chemistry Experiment Synthesizing CDTE and CDSE Quantum Dots and Fabricating A Working Solar Cell”; Matthew Wilen, chemistry major from Sturgis, “Development of Copper-Catalyzed Reactions Driven by Light for Chiral Molecule Synthesis”; Tayler Ripley, biology and chemistry major from Pierre, “Assessing the Toxicity of Synthesized Nanomaterials”; and Ashley Wingert, chemistry major from Custer, “Analysis of CDSE and CDTE Quantum Dots in Solar Cells.”

BHSU graduate programs were also represented among the more than 120 universities at the NCUR graduate Fair. Three BHSU faculty mentors also attended the conference.

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